AIS 140: Why Is It Necessary For School Bus Safety?

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AIS 140: Why Is It Necessary For School Bus Safety?

A parent’s biggest concern is the safety of their children especially when they are not physically present with them. The time between a child gets on to the school bus and reaches school or home is a tense period for most parents. This tension often overflows onto the school authorities when buses run late for any reason. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. With AIS 140 certified devices, not only is the geographical location of the bus trackable by school authorities and parents, but multiple panic buttons also ensure a quick response in case of any disaster. 

What Is AIS 140?

The AIS 140 or Automotive Industry Standard 140, is the new standard for Intelligent Transportation Systems by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). An AIS 140 certified device must send the vehicle’s geographic location to three servers simultaneously. This includes the school’s server, Government’s Command and Control center, and the police SOS server. It must also have easily accessible panic buttons so that relevant authorities can be notified quickly in case of any mishap. 

Why Do Your School Buses Need AIS 140 Certified Tracking Devices?

The AIS 140 guidelines are mandatory and thus, the first reason to install these devices is to comply with the new standards. The other benefits these devices offer include:

Improved Student Safety

Installing AIS 140 certified devices on all your school buses is the best way to prove the importance you give to student safety. With these devices, school authorities can track the movement of all their buses and ensure that no bus strays off the pre-determined route. An RFID based attendance system may also be installed to account for students when they board and de-board the buses. 

Encourages Parents To Let Their Child Commute By School Bus

One of the main reasons most parents choose to drop and pick up their children themselves is because they worry about not knowing where their child is while commuting between home and school. With an AIS 140 certified device, parents can easily keep track of where the bus is and thus have less to worry about. They may also choose to receive notifications of when the bus has left school and when the child is about to reach home. This allows them to plan their schedules more efficiently and builds trust in the school transport system.

Lower Traffic Congestion Outside School Gates

When parents trust the school bus system and start letting their children commute by bus, vehicular congestion outside school gates is dramatically reduced. Now, only those parents whose children live on routes not serviced by the school bus will need to drop and pick-up their children. 

Efficient Fleet Tracking

Managing a fleet of school buses becomes a lot easier with an AIS 140 certified device. The fleet manager will know at a glance where all the buses are at any given point of time. This information gives him/ her the ability to design the most efficient routes. If need be, a bus may also be easily rerouted. For example, if a child did not reach his/ her bus stop in time and another bus is in the vicinity, the bus may be re-routed to pick up the child instead of the parent having to drop the child to school. 

Ability To Respond Faster In Cases Of Mishap

No matter how well buses are maintained and how well drivers are trained, mishaps can occur at any time. In such cases, your response time measures your effectiveness. This is where AIS 140 devices play an important role. For example, in the case of a breakdown, a fleet manager can send the closest bus for support rather than sending one from the school premises. Since the devices transmit their location to police SOS networks as well, they will also be alerted at the occurrence of any mishap and can respond immediately. 

In Conclusion

Installing AIS 140 device son school buses doesn’t just ensure compliance with rules, it also adds to the school’s value proposition. After all, every parent will prefer to send their child to a school that values student safety.

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